The Win
In February, Ghiorse & Sorrenti Public Relations was retained to complement its broad fundraising support for Vassar Brothers Hospital Foundation in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with a promotional effort to support the latter stages of a $20 million capital campaign for a new outpatient cancer center, heart center and maternal/child care center. The Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based agency, specializes in fundraising and PR.
Main Competition
Although Vassar considered a few other PR agencies, the hospital was impressed with G&S's fundraising counsel and chose to stick with them because of their expertise in leveraging fundraising strategies and well-timed PR "issues-based" campaigns.
Pitch Team
G&S: Peter Ghiorse, president; Dan Sorrenti, EVP and COO; MaryAnn Winters, SVP; Jerry Murphy, VP fundraising; Glenn Vallach, VP PR and communications; Galina Vakrilova, account executive and John Modzelew, fundraising. VBHF: Ann Armater, executive director and Ronald T. Mullahey, CEO
Assignment
As with the majority of capital campaigns, most of the fundraising strategies to generate 50 to 70 percent of the goal are done on a "quiet" basis - targeting individuals, corporations and internal audiences in discreet, highly personal ways aimed at building relationships.
This part of the campaign occurred during most of 1998. By the time of the official kickoff to announce the campaign to the public last fall, the campaign had achieved 75 percent of its goal.
Instead of focusing the PR efforts on the fundraising campaign, G&S used an issues approach to building community awareness. The issues strategy educated the community about the need for local cancer care, cardiac care and women's health services in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Homework
G&S targeted local media, specifically the local newspaper and broadcast outlets to become media partners with the goal of educating the community about the importance of access to women's health, cardiac care and cancer care.
The PSA campaign, "Saving Lives, Changing Lives... the Campaign for Vassar Brothers Hospital," is positioned as an opportunity for the media to educate the community about the need for the community to have the healthcare services that will be offered by the new centers instead of traveling long distances for them.
So far, the capital campaign has raised $19.6 million and has until July 1 to raise the remaining $400,000. The publicity goals are to maintain consistent momentum with well-timed publicity efforts that focus on specific services.
Strategies
For hospitals, using the same agency to handle the fundraising counsel and PR strategies delivers some "hand-in-glove" communications benefits, including:
- Intimate knowledge of the issues that drive the capital campaign;
- An opportunity to foster relationships with the media on the issues/services that the healthcare organization will provide with the capital funding.
- Strategic counsel on developing fundraising initiatives/solicitation.
Pitch Tips
Proving your expertise in fundraising requires strong networking. Vassar had been aware of G&S fundraising expertise over the last 15 years.
When it launched its PR arm five years ago, the agency already had an established reputation for developing comprehensive promotional and positioning campaigns.
Agencies that can prove themselves with sound fundraising counsel are well-positioned to provide PR support. In Vassar's case, the fundraising proving ground for G&S included:
- Providing a third-party objective perspective on fundraising strategies;
- Educating executive management about fundraising approaches;
- Providing insight on the campaign's publicity needs and how to best leverage the issues highlighted in the fundraising component.
During the latter stage of the capital campaign when PR takes center stage, identify media hooks that:
- Promote issues instead of the fundraising event; and
- Have the potential for an extended shelf life.
(Ghiorse & Sorrenti Public Relations, 201/307-1970; VBHF, Ann Armater, 914/431-5609)